Hi Jeanette,
I knew there was a reason <g> I saved the following article from FAMILY
PLANNING PERSPECTIVES, a publication of "The Alan Guttmacher
Institute." This publication reviews current research concerning family
planning and STD's. I'm sure they wouldn't mind my sharing this update
from the Nov/Dec. 1995 issue:
HOW MANY CHILDREN WITH HIV?
Nearly 15,000 US children were born infected with HIV between 1978 and
1993, according to recent estimates, and by 1994 about one in five of
these children had already died of AIDS.(1) Investigators with the CDC
used national survey data, AIDS surveillance data and information from
a multicenter pediatric HIV research project to produce the estimates.
Their analysis suggests that 14,920 infants have been born infected
with HIV since the epidemic began, and that about 12,240 were still
alive as of the start of 1994. Thus, about 2,700 infants and children
have died of AIDS; a smilar number are thought to have progressed to
AIDS but have not yet died. The researchers estimate that nearly 40% of
those born infected with HIV are now 5 years of age or older. They also
project that if all HIV-infected US women knew they were infected and
could be treated with zidovudine, about two-thirds of HIV infections in
newborns could be prevented each year.
(1) S.F. Davis et al., "Prevalence and Incidence of Vertically
Acquired HIV Infection in the US," JAMA 247:952-955, 1995.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeanette, the article you quoted is almost identical to "Sacrificing
Babies on the Alter of Privacy" which was published 8/3/95 by the WSJ.
It begins with "Some 7000 babies are born each year in America to
HIV-infected women, and about 2,000 of the infants test positive for
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Fortunately, nearly 3/4 of these are
phony positives, because the babies have their mother's antibodies, but
not HIV itself. Yet these babies are at terrible risk because they are
very likely to get the virus through breast feeding - mother's milk is
a prime carrier of HIV."
The article continues much in the same vein as yours including the
spotlight on legislation introduced to require mandatory HIV testing
for pregnant women and newborns. Clearly the articles are sensational
editorials designed to shock the public into supporting that kind of
legislation.
As a public health nurse who's worked with indigent pregnant women for
a long time, I can offer the following comments as a reality check:
1. Women most likely to be HIV + are drug abusers. They are the least
likely to get prenatal care and certainly the least likely to
breastfed.
2. If they do initiate prenatal care, they are tested for HIV as part
of their intital work-up and are certainly informed of the results.
Whether or not they comply with therapy is up to them. They tend to be
transient and unreliable. Denial is common and understandable.
Enough said! Keep those Lactnet T-shirt requests coming...
Warm wishes to all,
Diana
http://www.prairienet.org/community/health/laleche/diana.html
|
